1. Literature: AnLiterature: An
Introduction toIntroduction to
Reading and WritingReading and Writing
by Roberts and Jacobsby Roberts and Jacobs
English Composition IIIEnglish Composition III
Mary F. Clifford, InstructorMary F. Clifford, Instructor

2. What Is Literature and Why Do WeWhat Is Literature and Why Do We
Study It?Study It?
• Literature is
– Composition that tells a story, dramatizes a situation,
expresses emotions, analyzes and advocates ideas
– Helps us grow personally and intellectually
– Provides an objective base for knowledge and
understanding
– Shapes our goals and values by clarifying our own
identities, both positively and negatively
– Literature makes us human.

3. GenresGenres
• Four genres of literature:
– Prose fiction
• Myths, parables, romances, novels, short stories
– Poetry
• Open form and closed form
• Relies on imagery, figurative language, sound
– Drama
• Made up of dialogue and set direction
• Designed to be performed
– Nonfiction prose
• News reports, feature articles, essays, editorials,
textbooks, historical and biographical works

4. Guidelines for Reading LiteratureGuidelines for Reading Literature
• First reading
– Determine what is happening, where, what, who is
involved, major characters
– Make a record of your reactions and responses
– Describe characterizations, events, techniques and ideas
• Second reading
– Trace developing patterns
– Write expanded notes about characters, situations,
actions
– Write paragraph describing your reactions and thoughts
– Write down questions that arise as you read (in the
margins)

5. Writing aWriting a PrecisPrecis
• Precis = a concise summary = paraphrase
– Retell the highlights so reader will know main sections
– Only essential details – they must be correct and
accurate
– Must be an original essay, written in your own words
– Be sure to introduce the title and author
– Avoid judgments
– Use present tense when retelling a story

6. Elements of FictionElements of Fiction
• Essence of fiction = narration (the telling)
• Elements of fiction = verisimilitude and donnee
– Verisimilitude = realism
• Must be compelling enough that the reader can “suspend
disbelief”
– Donnee = premise
• Something given by which you can judge the realism =
ground rules
• Sources of elements
– Character, plot, structure, theme, symbolism, style,
point of view, tone, irony

7. Plot and StructurePlot and Structure
• Plot = reflection of motivation and causation
– No plot = The king died and then the queen died.
– Plot = The king died, and then the queen died of grief.
• Conflict = controlling impulse in a connected
pattern of causes and effects
– Opposition of two or more people (e.g., hatred, envy,
anger, argument, avoidance, gossip, lies, fighting, etc.)
• Dilemma = Conflict within or for one person
– Conflict is a major element of plot because it arouses
curiosity, causes doubt, creates tension, produces
interest
– No tension = no interest

8. Structure of FictionStructure of Fiction
• Structure defines the layout of the
work
Crisis
Complication
Exposition
Climax
Resolution
(denouement)
Another structural element used sometimes = Flashback

9. Characters in FictionCharacters in Fiction
• Character = verbal representation of a human being
– Rounded = lifelike, full, dynamic, reader can predict future
behavior because of an understanding of the personality
– Protagonist = the hero or heroine, main person in the story,
person on the quest, etc.
– Antagonist = the person causing the conflict, in opposition to
the protagonist, the obstacle, etc.
– Flat = no growth, static
– Stock = representative of a group or class (stereotypical)
– Characters disclosed through
• Actions
• Descriptions, both personal and environmental
• Dramatic statements and thoughts
• Statements by other characters
• Statements by the author speaking as storyteller, or observer
– Characters need to have verisimilitude, be probable or
plausible

10. Point of ViewPoint of View
• Refers to speaker, narrator, persona or voice
created by the author to tell the story
• Point of view depends on two factors:
– Physical situation of the narrator as an observer
– Speaker’s intellectual and emotional position
• First person = I, we
• Second person = You (uncommon)
• Third person = He, she, they (most common)
• Point of view may be:
– Dramatic/objective = strictly reporting
– Omniscient = all-knowing
– Limited omniscient = some insight

11. SettingSetting
• Setting = a work’s natural, manufactured,
political, cultural and temporal environment,
including everything that characters know and
own (place, time, objects)
• Major purpose = to establish realism or
verisimilitude, and to organize a story
• Setting helps create atmosphere or mood
• Setting may reinforce characters and theme, in
order to establish expectations that are the
opposite of what occurs = irony

12. Tone and StyleTone and Style
• Tone = methods by which writers and speakers
reveal attitudes or feelings
• Style = ways in which writers assemble words to
tell the story, to develop an argument, dramatize
the play, compose the poem
– Choice of words in the service of content
• Essential aspect of style is diction
– Formal = standard or elegant words
– Neutral = everyday standard vocabulary
– Informal = colloquial, substandard language, slang

13. Tone and Style (contTone and Style (cont’’d)d)
• Language may be:
– Specific = images
– General = broad classes
– Concrete = qualities of immediate perception
– Abstract = broader, less palpable qualities
• Denotation = word meanings
• Connotation = word suggestions
• Verbal irony = contradictory statements
– One thing said, opposite is meant
– Irony = satire, parody, sarcasm, double entendre
• Understatement = does not fully describe the importance of
a situation – deliberately
• Hyperbole (overstatement) = words far in excess of the
situation

14. Symbolism and AllegorySymbolism and Allegory
• Symbolism and allegory are modes that expand
meaning
• Symbol creates a direct, meaningful equation
between:
– A specific object, scene, character, or action
– Ideas, values, persons or ways of life
• Symbols may be:
– Cultural (universal) = known by most literate people
(e.g., white dove, color black)
– Contextual (authorial) = private, created by the
author

15. Symbolism and Allegory (contSymbolism and Allegory (cont’’d)d)
• Allegory is a symbol = complete and self-sufficient
narrative (e.g., “Young Goodman Brown”)
• Fable = stories about animals that possess human traits
(e.g., Aesop’s Fables)
• Parable = allegory with moral or religious bent (e.g.,
Biblical stories)
• Myth = story that embodies and codifies religious,
philosophical and cultural values of the civilization in which
it is composed (e.g., George Washington chopping down
the cherry tree)
• Allusion = the use of other culturally well=known works
from the Bible, Greek and Roman mythology, famous art,
etc.

16. Idea or ThemeIdea or Theme
• Idea = results of general and abstract thinking
– In literature, ideas relate to meaning, interpretation,
explanation and significance
• Literature embodies values along with ideas
– Ideas are vital to an understanding and appreciation of
literature
• Ideas are not as obvious as character or setting. It is
important to consider the meaning of what you’ve read and
then develop an explanatory and comprehensive assertion.
• Theme can be found in any of these:
– Direct statements by the authorial voice
– Direct statements by a first-person speaker
– Dramatic statements by characters
– Figurative language, characters who stand for ideas
– The work itself